Improvement in seed-planters



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

L. R. WRIGHT.

.Corn Planter.

Patented Apr. 16, 1861.

v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. L. R. WRIGHT.

Corn Planter.

Nag I I Pate nted Apr. 16, 1861.

N. PETERS, PHOTOMTMOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON, 01C

To all whom it may concern:

i UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE.

Lnwisn. WRIGHT, or cottons, nnwYoRK, Ass renonmo HIMSELF AND THOMAS E. HOWARD, or SAME PLACE."

IMPROVEMENT m SEED-PLANTE'RS,

Specification formingpa'rt of Letters Patent No; 32,108, dated April 16, 1861.

Be it known that I, LEW s R. WRIGHT, of the village of Cohoes, in the county of Albany and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Seed-Planters; and I do hereby declare that the following contains a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the annexed drawings, in whichf r a Figure 1 is a plan, of a seed-planter having all my said improve1nents, some parts of the machine being removed or broken away. Fig.

2 is a side elevation and partial longitudinal,

section of the same seed-planter. Fig. 3 is y a partialtransmersesectiouand elevation'otthe.

same. Fig. 4' is a plan of the under side of i one of the planting devices of the "machine.

Fig. 5 is a front View of the plow or furrowopener, and Fig. 6 a front view of the seedcoverer of the machine; and Figs. 7 andS are;

- transverse sections of its seeding-cylinder on i a largerscale than the other drawings,

which forms the bottom of the seedbox; The; cylinder H has a tubular or cylindrical seed};

cell,d, ortwo ormore such cells, arrangedradiallywithin' it.

into the-seed box J and'downwardintoa tube, L, that '1 guides .thegseed- 1 to the;ground. In each seed-ear Ta-piston, c,i a ted to slide.

a each pis'ton is pivoted or joint- .ed-to one rm of a lever, e, which extends lengthwis oil-and hasits'fulcruma' inthe cylinder iElnan alias its'other arm extended beyond -th en ofthe seeding-cylinder; While aseed celR-fd, is directed upward'into the hop- :7 p 97 ep the P 3 5 d n n. the cellg'las shown on the 'pper sideof the cyl-- indel- H in'Figs1'2 and 17, so 'thatftlrejjseed the seed-box may surely falljintogiand' fill t 'seed-celLr While the seed} cell; is 1directe downward, the spring glis then overcomebyn afixed lcani,;f, against which th projcctingend bf' th 1mm Strikes, and is" erety moveii;

As the cylinder H revolves? each, seed cell d isalternatelydi'rected upward open so-as to quickly force the piston c outward to the-mouth of the seed-cell, as shown on the lower side of the cylinder H in Figs, 2 and 7, and thereby discharge the seed from the cell by'apositive motion. The piston c is in the form of a cylindrical-headed screw, which can be turned either farther in or out of its shankstock h, so as to thereby either increase or lessen the depth of the seed-cell, and the cam,

if may be adjustable, so that itwill :move the 4 lever B, and thereby the piston c, a greater or 'a' less distance; or the above-described seeddropping device may be made 'so adjustable that it will receive. and positively discharge a greaterhr a. less ,quantity. of seed. by. meanslof any other suitable cont-rivan'ce as, for instance, by means of a screw, be, acting against the projecting arm of the lever 0, so as to thereby limit the retreat of the lever e and attached piston to to various distances. A hopper, I, may be arranged for holding plasteror other fertilizer on a part of the cylinder H. in

which may bejcupsi i, so arranged as to discharge a little of the fertilizer with the seed ejected from the cells d. 4

' Now, I do not claim as new a revolving seeding-cylinder provided with seed-cells hav' ing movable bottoms orsliding discharge-pistons, nor a bottom or piston havinga screw on itsshankfor makingthe seed-cell adjustable;, 1101 do I claim the emptying of a revolving .seed-cell by apositive movement of a slide, or piston therein; but I. do believe that'the co-mbination of the lever e, cam f, and spring 1 with the piston din'theradial seed-cells d of the revolving cylinder-H which forms the bo'ttom of a seed-box rl,mahonedescrihed andrepresent-edby theannexeilfdrawings, sof that the whole combination; constitutes an ad ustable seed-dropping'device in'which the seedcell is emptiedo with apositive rpoveinent of a the piston, and the piston retracted within the' seed-cell by the device itself, independently of gravity, what'ever may be the sizeto whichthe seed-cell is temporarily adjusted, is j Another part of my invention consistsof a "adjhstable planting device construct-- o1 to wit: The'plow or furroww thj ior without "the" leveling "and- I clod-remoiring shares M i 'attached toa do endof which frame is supported by the axle of the carrying'wheel or wheels 0, arranged forward of the plow. The eoverer N is carr'ied bya block or frame, 0, which is hung at its front end, t, to a down ward-proj ecting part, L, of the frame A, and is connected at its rear .end to the hind 'part of the frame A by means of a rod or hanger, I, made adjustable up and down by means of a screw, 0, and nuts u a. or

by any equivalent means. The roller Q, which rolls along on the ground behind the coverer N and sustains the rear part of the machine, is mounted-in a frame, R, which is hung at its front end, '0, so astoturn up and-down on the rear end of the block 0, that carries; the coverer, the frame B being limited in its upward movement in respect to the frame 0 by any suitable stop or stops, w. The rear end of the frame R is connected with the hind part of the frame A by means of a rule-joint brace, S, hung totheframe. R, and-hinged at its upper endto the frame A or the adj ustinghanger]? of the frame O. 1 By bending the jointed brace S outward, as shown in full lines in Fig. 2, the frame A is thereby let down, so as to bring the plow K and coverer N into action upon the soil, as in planting, and by straightening the brace S, as indicated by the dotted linesin Fig; 2, the frame A is thereby so raised up as to bring both theplow and coverer above the groundand out of the way of obstructions which might be run over in drawing the machine from place to place, the jointed brace S alone serving to keep the frame A in its elevated position. The line Z Z in Fig. 2 representsthe surface of the ground when the jointed'brace S is bent so as to leave the frame R loose and the plow and coverer in action upon or in the soil; and the dotted line-Z Y indicates the, surface of the ground inrespect to the machine when the brace S is straightened, so as to hold the. frame It rigid, and the plow and 'coverer above the ground. By means of the adjusting hanger P the rear end of the frame 0 can be raised and lowered in respect I to the frame A, so that thereby the plow-K and coverer Nma'y be 'together'adjusted to act more or less deeply upon the soil. The coverer'N may be made adjustable independentlyof the plow K Mby securingthe coverer' to the block 0 by means ofa spring or movahleholderfl,andaserew, s, so that there" 'by themachine may-be adjusted to put more or less earth over the seed, while the'furrow in which the seed isldropped continues to be made of the same depth; or the plow K-and leveler M maybe made-adjustable independently of each other and ofthe coverer N by having slotted shanks q and a screw-bolt, d, so that the furrows. may be made of difi'erent" depths by the plow, and' .-more or less earth j I struck off from the edges of the furrows by the leveler, while the'actionfof theseed-covererN remains unaltered. 1

. when walking behind the machine and different lengt' *ingdevices so" The plow'K M, covererhl, and roller-Q have been heretofore combined and arrangedin'seedscendingpart, L, of the'main frame A, thefront planters, and in such cases the plowand the supported forward of the plow by a wheel, O,-

substantially as above described, and shown by the annexed drawings, so that while the plow and cover'er'can be adjusted thereby so as to act more or less deeplyupon the soil, the drive", gui ing it with his hands, can then raise and hold the plow and coverer above the ground by simply pushing with his foot for an instant against the brace S, so as to straighten the latter, and can also lower the' plow and coverer and keep them in action upon the soil by' merely kicking back. the brace S, so as to bend it.

Another part of my invention consists in the so constructing, hanging, and arranging, substantially as hereinafter described, and shown by the annex'eddrawi-ngs, upon the one cylindrical ordriving axle B of two carrying and drivingwheels, G 0, two separate frames, A A, each provided with separate,a djustable, and equal seed dropping and planting devices,

substantially such as or equivalents for those hereinbefore described, that while the seeding v devices are driven-by the wheels 0 0 or their axle-B, and the two frames A A-are adjustable 'to different distances apart on the axle B, the seeding and planting devices of each frame can be thrown into and out of action independently, and the frames A A will under all circumstances 'of use each rise and fall independently of the other to suit the condition or I unevenness of the ground to be planted or traveled'over. two'frames A A, Figs. 1 and 3, are setat different distances apart on the axle B (to adapt; th 'machine for simultaneously planting two. rozgs at a grea'teror less distance fromeach other) by meansof set-screws b in the hubs g the wheels 0 '0, or by means of set-'collarsa a o diameter and turn the two seeding-cylinders HH in the frames'AA-by meansofequal} bevelswheels j j o'nthe wheelsfi gginconnec-i tion with the twoequal bevel-pinions' iakpn While the machine seeding-cylinders neously orfseparetely tion as may-be requires; in. planting rowsofand-,im regulating the seed; to drop the seed .-simu lta. .neously or alternately, as may be desired,f-"b means of hand-levers Z I, hung on the'bolt 4 in combinatienwiththe link-rods mlm'and can be either simulta- In the annexed drawings, the I stopped. and setgin unit'- i the forked elbow levers reacting on the bevel-wheels j j, which are fitted to slide into,

and out of gear with the pinions k k, as indi-' cated by the dotted-linesat j j in Fig. 1." The axle B turns or fits ,loosely in the separate fraines- A A, so that when the machine is being drawn over uneven ground each frame A A, with its separate planting and seeding device, will rise and fall independentlyvto suit the surface of the ground, there being no material interference from the draft-bars T T, nor from the adjustable slotted arms G G,

' which hold the fulcrum i of the levers Z I, nor

from any other part of the machine. arid the separate planting devices K N K N of each frame A can be separately thrown either intoor out of action upon the soil by means of the jointed braces S S and the swinging rollerframes R R, or their equivalent. By having the leversl Z arranged at the rear end of the xmachine and an indexshand, 0, on the rear and outside end of each axle p p of the seeddropping cylinders H H, the operator, while walking behind and guiding the machine by handles F F, can there regulate the separate seeding devices so that they will drop their charges simultaneously or alternately, as re. qnired.

Now, I do not claim hanging a series of sep arate frames, each having a plow and a-seeddropper upon one axle, so that the plows will rise and fall independently of each other, as

shown in N o. 19,242of United States patents; but what I believe is new is two or more separate framesA each' provided with a separate seed dropping and planting device, and all constructed, hung, and arranged on the one axleD of the traction-wheels O C, so that the frames can not only rise and fall independently, but can be adjusted laterally to-plant rows at difl'erent distances apart, and set to positively drop the seed either alternately or simultaneously from the several frames, as may be required, and separately thrown into and out of action, all substantially as herein-/ before described, and shown by the annexed drawings. Y,

What I claim as my improvementin seedplanters, and desire to secure by Letters Pat" ent,is-

1. The combination of the lever e,cam f, and spring 9 with the piston c and cell d in the rotary cylinder H, forming the bottom of the seed-box J the whole constituting an a'djustable seed-dropping device that empties the seed-cell with a positive motion, as'here in described. i d V p i I 2. The combination of the hinged frame R, carrying the roller Q, and the adjustable j block 0, carrying the coverer N, with the frame A, carrying the plow K, and supported forward thereof by a wheel or wheels, 0, the plow and co'verer being thrown into-and out .of action upon the soil by means of the, jointed brace S, substantially as herein described.

3. The framesAA, hung separately on one driving-axle, B, so that they will rise audfall independently to suit the unevenness of-the, ground to be planted, and adjustable later ally to plant rows at'different distances apart,

and having equal-and distinct seeding and planting devices, which are thrown into and out of action separately to plant rows of different lengths, and in either alternate or opposite hills, all substantially as herein described. I

. L'EWIS'R. WRIGHT. Witnesses:

JoHN STEPHENS, GEORGE W. HOWARD. 

